howl when we're apart
by chalantness
Summary: [Liam/Hayden] Oh, god, Liam! She lets out a breath and feels a tear roll down her cheek. She doesn't think she's ever been so relieved to see him.


**Title:** _howl when we're apart_ **  
Rating:** PG-13  
 **Word Count:** ~2,000  
 **Characters:** Liam/Hayden  
 **Prompt:** "Could you pretty please write a drabble/one shot based on your theories about Liam saving/protecting Hayden in Monday nights episode?"  
 **Summary:** Oh, _god_ , Liam – she lets out a breath and feels a tear roll down her cheek. She doesn't think she's ever been so relieved to see him.

 **For:** irememberyoufern

 **A/N:** I just wanted to write about Liam and Hayden in a hole and then this happened.

 **howl when we're apart  
**

Her fingers fumble for the lock even though she's already tried it, because some desperate part of her thinks that maybe this time it'll actually open.

Except of course it doesn't, and her vision blurs with tears when she blinks rapidly, and she feels herself practically gasping for breath as she twists her keys in the ignition. She's _terrified_ , and she can't see anything other than the dim glow of the streetlight down this strip of empty road, silhouetting whatever it is that's coming closer. Her hands are shaking and she's not really sure why she does it, but she grasps onto the steering wheel tightly – so tight that she swears her nails rip into the leather – and lets out a scream. Her voice echoes through the car ( _of course_ she couldn't get the windows open) and pierces her own ears, but she keeps screaming, because this is all she can do, and because she's _scared_.

Something slams into her door and her scream rips into a shriek, and she tries to throw herself as far from her door as possible.

But then a muffled voice yells her name and she snaps her head around to see—

 _Liam_.

Oh, _god_ , Liam – she lets out a breath and feels a tear roll down her cheek. She doesn't think she's ever been so relieved to see him, even if she's not at all sure how he'll be able to get her out, but _fuck_. She's not alone anymore and that's something, at least. "Liam!" she yells, jumping back into her seat and grasping at her door.

He gives it a tug from the other side but it still doesn't budge. She feels herself shaking as she turns to look, and she whimpers as she sees the silhouettes drawing even closer.

"Liam," she yells again, pressing a hand to the glass. His eyes are wide and wild, and he just stares at her for a moment, eyebrows furrowed, and _what the hell is he—_

But then he braces a hand against the side of her car, jaw setting as he gives it another tug, and she feels her whole car lurch towards him, metal creaking and something snapping as he gets the door open – _holy crap, he got the door open_ – and she exhales sharply in relief. He reaches in and grasps her arm above her elbow, practically lifting her up and pulling her out in one motion. Her legs shake a little as her feet hit the pavement, but she grasps onto his shirt for balance, and Liam's grip keeps her upright as his eyes glance over her.

Then he snaps his head around to look over his shoulder and he pulls his hand off of her, pressing his palm between her shoulder blades as he pushes her forward and yells, "Run!"

She stumbles at the sudden momentum, but then Liam's hand presses more firmly into her back and she, somehow, gains her footing.

And then they're running.

Her heels hit the ground hard, lungs already burning for air. She's running so fast that everything is just a blur of colors, the fog wetting her face, and she doesn't even know where they're going, but Liam keeps his hand on her back to guide her, or maybe just to let her know that he's still right behind her, so she keeps going.

And she's not sure how long they've been running or how far they've gotten, when she chances a look over her shoulder, but she can't see the silhouettes following them anymore and somehow that makes her feel relieved and terrified all over again. Just because she can't see them doesn't mean they've escaped just yet. She doesn't even know what the hell those things were, but they appeared almost out of nowhere, and she has this sinking feeling that they're going to be much closer the next time it happens. Her muscles ache and her legs feel like they're going to give out beneath her, but she doesn't want to _stop_ running, either, so she grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut and tries to push through it.

Then Liam grasps her wrist and tugs her off of the pavement and into the forest, and she barely makes out the jagged outline of a formation of rocks when Liam pulls her inside and her vision is obscured completely by the dark.

She feels her feet give out from beneath her, as then she's _falling_ , but before she can yelp, she slams into something and sucks in a gasp of surprise, coughing a little.

An arm comes around her, holding her firmly as she feels herself being rolled onto her back, and then Liam is hovering above her, breath warm against her face. She can't see him even a little bit, that's how dark it is, but she can feel his heart thumping through his chest where it's pressing against hers, and she grips the material of his shirt too tightly between her fingers. He makes a soft shushing sound and the tone of it is soothing enough to put her a little bit more at ease, even with her blood still thrumming and her adrenaline rushing.

"Hayden," he whispers. It's disorienting, not being able to see, but the _worry_ is still clear in his voice. "Are you okay?"

She makes this little noise from the back of her throat, shifting underneath him. Nothing seems hurt or even bruised, so that's something, at least.

"Yeah," she breathes. He exhales a breath, and, despite everything, she feels the corners of her mouth tug upward. She's never heard him sound so _relieved_ before. "You're a lot heavier than you look," she murmurs before she can help it.

He lets out a strangled sound, like – if this were any other situation – he would've laughed. She would, too, if she wasn't trying to figure out how the hell they even got here.

"What the hell were those things?" she hisses, because she's got about a dozen questions right now, and that's the first one that comes out. "And where are we?"

"Cave, in the forest," he tells her, and then he shifts, clearing his throat. "And… I don't really have an answer for that other one."

"Liam," she says. He obviously knows a lot more than he's letting on and she wants him to tell her. She has ever since that day with Tracy in the classroom, when he looked her in the eye and said he wasn't sure where they were taking her. She _knew_ he was lying, that he was hiding something, and she wants to know. "How did you even know where I was?"

She hears him blow out a breath, shifting above her. His arm is still in a firm grip around her waist, the other braced against the ground somewhere next to her head. She's entirely surrounded by Liam, and maybe it's stupid, but she feels _safe_. Maybe that's why, when he finally says, "I was following you," she doesn't get the urge to slap him like she might've. She just furrows her eyebrows, even though she knows he can't see this. "I – I've been doing it ever since the thing with Tracy happened, because we thought you were in danger."

He holds his breath a little like he expects her to be mad, but she's not. She's still _terrified_ , if anything.

"Why would I be in danger? Why were those things after me?" The questions come out so softly that she can barely hear herself.

(She's not entirely sure she wants to hear the answers.)

"I think it's because you're a little more like us," he says, and she's not sure who he's talking about, but before she can ask, he adds, "You're not exactly human." She tenses and grips onto his shirt a little tighter, and then he's rushing out, "I know it's a lot to take in, and I'm not exactly—I'm not the best person to explain this because I don't know a lot of it myself." He takes a breath. She pictures him making that (adorably) stupid face, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "As soon as we get out of here, I'll tell you everything, alright?"

She squints a little, trying to make out his face – or anything, really – through the dark, but there's just not enough light to see anything.

Still, she can practically feel his stare against her skin, and she pictures his stupid blue eyes, and she lets out a slow breath. "Promise me," she says.

"I promise," he tells her. "This time, I really mean it."

There's something in his voice that makes her believe him, even if in some small part of her mind, she's thinking back to the sixth grade and her eleven-year-old self that thought Liam breaking his promise to her was the worst thing he could ever do. She honestly _hated_ him in that moment, and for the rest of middle school, but now they're here, his arms around her in this dark space as they hide from _whatever the hell_ those things were, and honestly? It's the safest she's felt since Tracy grabbed her wrist that day in the classroom.

"Okay," she breathes. He makes a soft noise of surprise but doesn't say anything. She's kind of glad, but she also hates the quiet. After a moment, she whispers, "I owe you."

"Hayden—"

"You saved me," she interrupts. _Even after everything I put your through_ , she wants to add, but she thinks he already understands.

"And I'd do it again, even if you didn't want me to. That's nothing to owe me for."

He says it easily, his tone simple, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Her breath catches for a second. She wants to see his eyes, so she can tell just how serious he is right now, but she thinks she already knows. "Never thought tonight would ever happen," she says. "Never imagined Little Liam would come to my rescue."

Despite _everything_ , he chuckles. It's the first time he has at that nickname. "I'm not _that_ little anymore," he mumbles.

"I know," she says. Of course she's noticed. He's always been athletic, but he's never looked like _this_ before. She feels herself smirk. "But you're still shorter than me."

" _Shut up_ ," he breathes out on a laugh. "This is the thanks I get, huh?"

She can tell that he doesn't really mean it, so she brings a hand up to cover her mouth, chuckling softly. It's kind of ridiculous that she's laughing at all right now considering how terrified she was just a few moments ago. She's still a little (a lot) shaken up, but she's stopped _shaking_ , too, so at least that's something.

She's never been a patient person, but she closes her eyes and listens to sound of his breathing, counting her heartbeats as they wait. She's not sure how long they lay there until Liam finally says, "Come on, they've passed," and starts to move off of her. She wants to ask how he _knows_ that those things are gone, but she has a feeling that's an answer she'll get when they talk about all of this later. His hand finds hers and he tugs her forward, and she looks up to see the moonlight glowing at the opening of the cave a little above them.

Liam squeezes her hand a little before letting go and then grabs onto the wall, lifting himself up and out. Then he leans in and grasps onto both of her hands, pulling her up, and she sort of falls against him again as he tugs her out.

His hand finds the same spot between her shoulder blades, steadying her on her knees. "You okay?" he asks.

That's kind of too many questions in one right now, but she meets his eyes and nods. He swallows a little and nods, too, though neither of them moves to stand just yet. She feels _tired_ , and she can tell her muscles will ache in the morning, and her head is still spinning with dozens and dozens of questions. She needs a second to catch her breath.

She leans forward, pressing her forehead into his neck, and though he hesitates at first, he brings his other arm around her.

"Hayden," he says, voice soft, and she closes her eyes and lets herself feel _calm_ , if only for this moment.


End file.
